Our History

Welcome to our history pages. What would you like to know about Community Living Kawartha Lakes?

• Our background



• A timeline of events important to our association and to the community living movement

For more information about our background and history, please also refer to our archived news articles.

Our Background

Sharing concerns for individuals with intellectual challenges and their families, parents and community members established the Lindsay and District Association for Retarded Children as a non-profit organization in 1960. A year later, the Association opened a school with one teacher and seven students at Cambridge Street United Church in Lindsay. In 1969, the school came under the jurisdiction of the Victoria County Board of Education.

We have developed a variety of services and supports over the years. These include Arc Industries, a workshop for post-school work and continuing learning (1973-1990), as well as a nursery school (1982-1991). Group homes for supported living, first opened in 1979, continue to offer service today.

In the mid 1980's, society was recognizing the right of all its citizens to fully participate in community life. There was a shift to support integration of those with developmental challenges into the community. As well, there was new emphasis on the importance of the family in meeting the needs of individuals within the broader community. Reflecting the move away from the mentally retarded label and focusing on community inclusion, our name changed to the Victoria County Association for Community Living (VCACL) in 1988.

In 2002 we became Community Living Kawartha Lakes and we continue to offer a wide range of supports centred around the needs of the individual and family. We made this name change to reflect our participation in the Provincial Communications Strategy and the municipal restructuring that resulted in the City of Kawartha Lakes.

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Our Timeline

1953 Ontario Association for Community Living was formed.

1956 Canadian Association for Community Living was formed.

1959 Parents came together in Lindsay to establish a school for children labelled mentally retarded.

1960 We opened a school as the Victoria County Association for Retarded children, in rented space at Cambridge Street United Church. Seven children attended, taught by one teacher.

1961 1st publicly funded school in Vancouver, B.C. was established for children labelled mentally retarded.

1962 Canadian Rehabilitation Council for the Disabled established.

1965 Child Welfare Act, Rehabilitation Act and Disabled Persons Allowance Act established.

1965 Education Authorities established for the purpose of operating schools for children labelled mentally retarded.

1966 Vocational Rehabilitation Act. Homes for Retarded Persons Act and Nursing Homes Act established.

1967 Mental Health Act established.

1969 Ou school came under the jurisdiction of the Victoria County Board of Education.

1969 Schools for mentally retarded children came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education in Ontario.

1971 International Declaration of the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons was adopted by United Nations.

1971 Williston Report advocated the phasing out of institutions in Ontario.

1973 Arc Industries was opened. Designed to provide an opportunity for post-school activities and learning. Three trainees and one staff sarted out.

1975 United Nations General Assembly passed the Declaration of Rights of Disabled Persons.

1975 Coalition of Provincial Organizations (COPON) for the Handicapped established.

1976 Arc Printing opened.

1977 British Columbia People First was established as a self advocacy group for people labelled mentally retarded.

1979 We opened our first group home at 51 Adelaide St. North, offering residential options for nine people.

1981 International Year of Disabled Persons.

1981 We opened an adolescent group home opened at 29 Elgin St. Lindsay.

1982 Education Act in Ontario incorporated Bill 82, requiring school boards to serve all children, utilizing a complex assessment and identification process.

1982 Obstacles Report produced by the Canadian government defining the concerns of disables persons.

1982 Victoria County Learning Centre Nursery School opened at 62 Riverview Road.

1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms established with provisions to prohibit discrimination on the basis of mental or physical disability.

1983 Beginning to close institutions in Ontario, British Columbia and New Brunswick for people labelled mentally retarded.

1983 Dawson case established - the right to necessary medical care regardless of the wishes of parents/guardians.

1983 1st International Conference on Rehabilitation was held.

1985 Nation/People First Project started.

1986 Arc Industries and Arc Printing were amalgamated.

1986 Our adolescent group home closed (all children should be raised in families and individual Residential Care was born).
- 29 Elgin our second adult group home.
- Child and Family Support Services initiated.
- Supported Independent Living began.

1986 Supreme Court ruled that no one could be sterilized or have any other procedure done against his/her will.

1987 We opened our Wilson Ave. group home opened.

1987 Elwood Settlement agreement with Halifax County Public School Board agrees to give a child with a mental impairment full integration into the neighbourhood school.

1987 Canadian Disability Rights Council established.

1988 Lindsay and District Association for the Mentally Retarded name changed to Victoria County Association for Community Living.

1988 Resource program that ran through the Nursery School joined our Family Supports program and expanded.

1988 Ontario parents of children with developmental disabilities take their school boards to court to access integration in their children's neighbourhood schools.

1989 Our Adelaide St. home was replaced by a smaller residence on Applewood Crescent.

1989 Ontario Human Rights Code determined that "responsible accommodation" be made to take into account the special needs of people with disabilities.

1989 Our Elm St. group home opened, a group home for adults returned to the community through the nursing home initiative.

1990 Fenton case went to the Supreme Court of B.C. to contest the fact that people in forensic psychiatric services were not getting paid in sheltered workshops. Court ruled this unconstitutional.

1991 Victoria County Learning Centre closed.

1991 Tri-County Planning and Advisory Group initiated.

1992 Victoria County Association for Community Living (VCACL) wins Ontario Association for Community Living (OACL) Montgomery Award for outstanding commitment to the goals of Community Living.

1994 Tri-County Family Home program established.

1995 Tri-County Planning and Advisory Group developed a strategic plan to support the Ministry's approach to a "systematic, cooperative approach to service development and delivery."

1995 VCACL wins OACL's Outstanding Newsletter Award.

1996 Independent Living Team combines supported employment and supported independent living programs.

1998 VCACL a national finalist for National Donner Foundation Award for excellence in non-profit management.

1998 VCACL undertakes responsibility for administering Day Nurseries Resource Funding Program and the Tri-County respite Fund.

1998 Building Bridges (transitional planning) and KURE (Kids Understanding and Respecting Everyone) established.

1999 Summer Respite and Teens on the Go program established.

1998 Community Living Support Services (CLSS) formed with consolidation of Employment Supports, Day Supports and Group Home programs.

2000 "Almost Home" Respite House opens.

2002 VCACL changes name to CLKL (Community Living Kawartha Lakes).

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